Seizure
by Crysania
Summary: Tumblr prompt: Gold has epilepsy. He and Belle are visiting Bae when he has really bad attack. Belle takes care of him. Bae is in shock and doesn't know what to do at all. But now he knows one thing more than ever - that he loves his papa so much. (Slight changes: not really AU, seizures but not specifically epilepsy.) (Part 10 of my Tumblr 100 follower prompt-a-thon)


Neal didn't expect the invitation. Ever since they had returned from Neverland his father had left him alone. He had requested it of course, had wanted it. His father had done the right thing in the end, siding with their group and saving Henry. It had come at a terrible price as Pan's shadow attacked him, nearly left him for dead. His undoing, it seemed, was the loss of his magic and not through losing the Dark One curse. Instead Pan's shadow had surrounded him, drained him of all traces of magic, leaving even the dagger cold and lifeless.

Neal had been unsure what to do. He'd abandoned him partway through the quest, left him alone and vulnerable in a place he knew only too well was psychological torture for most. And then suddenly the father he had so many issues with, someone who had been so strong for hundreds of years, was just gone. Left in his wake was the one he once knew, the crippled man, the coward, the one who was unable to fight for himself anymore. He almost walked away from him. He tried not to think too much on that one now that he was back home in Storybrooke. But it was true. He had been left alone with him when all were sure his father had been vanquished by the shadow, given time to say his goodbyes alone. And then he realized he was still alive. Weak, but alive. The thought of leaving him behind crossed his mind for just a moment, a sort of fleeting thing that he instantly regretted and squashed down before calling on the others for help in getting him back to the boat.

He was almost positive…_almost_…that his father knew he contemplated leaving him to die in Neverland. There was a certain look about his eyes when they met his, a deep sadness that he had never expected to see.

So when the invitation to dinner arrived in his mailbox, clearly hand-delivered by someone who didn't want to ring the doorbell, he was surprised. The handwriting was not his father's, for he was sure that even after all this time his was still an illegible scrawl. He couldn't imagine that his father would actually spend time working on perfecting it as he did his magic. He can only imagine that the culprit was Belle.

Belle. He hadn't really met her until they got off the boat and his father was greeted by a flurry of high heels and flying auburn hair that flung itself so hard at him that he was nearly knocked over in his weakened state. She had been so profuse in her greeting that Neal had to look away in embarrassment. Briefly she had introduced herself to him (_Belle, not Lacey, we'll explain later_) and then whisked his father off into a waiting car and home. Neither had been seen since.

Apparently she decided there needed to be a family reunion and who was he to protest really? His father had done him wrong so very long ago. Neal had done him wrong recently. There was a lot of crap to sort through there and he wasn't sure he was really ready for that. But he went anyway, curious as ever.

When he arrived, Belle met him at the door. "You're father's resting in the other room," she told him as she took his coat and escorted him in.

He put a hand on her arm and stopped her from walking further. "Resting?"

"He's not felt well since returning, Neal. Surely you must realize that. He's in pain and he's tired." He looked closely at her and realized there were dark circles under her eyes, a pinched look about her mouth.

"Is everything ok?"

She nodded. "Everything is fine. But it's going to take some adjustment. He's not used to living without his magic."

She was so matter-of-fact about it and that took him somewhat by surprise. She walked him into the other room where he found his father laying on the couch, blankets piled on him. He was shocked at the changes. He looked old for the first time in his life, the lines deeper, that same tired look about his eyes that Belle had. "Papa," he said by way of greeting.

His father looked up at him and it took a moment for his eyes to focus. "Bae…" He held up a hand. "Neal…sorry. I'll get used to that one of these days."

Neal walked closer and sat on the ottoman that was near the couch. "You look…"

"Don't lie. I know how I look." His voice was tired. "Belle tries to tell me otherwise all the time, but I know."

"Papa…"

"Here…help me sit up, son." He seemed so frail, so helpless. Leaning forward, Neal offered him a hand and helped pull his father into a sitting position. "Better…much better."

They sat in awkward silence for a moment before his father spoke again. "Neal. Look at me son." Neal did as he bade. Even now, centuries after being this man's little boy, he still listened. "You should have left me behind."

"I would never…"

"I know you thought about it…"

"What? No…"

His father's voice was stronger, more like the voice he knew so well. The one that haunted both nightmares and dreams at turns. "I was half there. I heard the discussion you had with Emma when you thought I was dead. I was too weak to communicate. But I heard…everything. I…thank you for bringing me back. But you should have left me to die there in Neverland."

"Papa…" He didn't know what else to say. His strong father, who had lived hundreds of years and dealt with countless losses…reduced to _this_.

"It would have been easier, son."

"For who?" His voice rose as his ire did. He stood and walked away, paced, threw his arms out as he turned back to his father. "Surely not for Belle. Don't you think she wanted you back here?" He thought of the kind-hearted woman in the other room, the one who could actually love his father in every realm. And he didn't doubt that she loved him for a moment. He saw the way she looked at him, saw the soft smiles when his name was brought up.

"She'd find happiness elsewhere…" His voice trailed off. The thought obviously pained him but he spoke the words like he'd spoken them countless times before.

"Have you been telling her that?" His father's eyes slid away from his. "Dammit Papa, why are you doing that to her? Haven't you done _enough_?" He was one step from calling him the coward everyone else did when his father's eyes rolled up in his head and he slumped sideways. For a second could do nothing more than stare at his father. "Papa?" His voice was small. He stepped forward. "Papa!" He nearly shouted the word, but still no response.

He heard the clicking of heels as Belle came rushing into the room. "What's wrong?" And then she saw him slumped over on the couch and went immediately to his side. She squatted down and lifted one of his eyelids up and nodded. Calmly, she pulled him up partway and slid beneath him, cradling his head in her lap and running her fingers lightly through his still-long hair. She wrapped the other arm around him and held him close.

Neal backed up a couple steps. "This has happened before?"

Belled looked away from his father, meeting his eyes for a moment before looking back down at the man she loved. "It's happened several times since he returned. This one is fairly mild. Sometimes he shakes, sometimes he's still and so quiet I'm sure he's gone. Sometimes he thrashes about and seems to be in great pain..." He remembered someone talking about a bruise on the side of her face and the accusations that flew around about his father before Neal shut them down. "I keep him safe, Neal. Always." She looked back up at him and he realized the dark circles were due to exhaustion…from _this_. Because she always had to be on her guard, always had to be ready to jump into action to help him. She had been doing this for weeks on her own.

He knelt down next to the pair of them, reaching out a hand to lightly touch his father's shoulder. "Maybe sometime, when you need a break, I could stay with him? Keep him safe for you?"

Belle smiled and he saw one tear fall from her eye. "I think he'd like that Neal."

"It's Bae, actually." He saw her smile brighten at that. She reached out a hand to squeeze his upper arm. No more words needed to be said as the pair kept vigil over their loved one. He may have issues with his father, issues that still needed to be resolved, but one thing he was certain of, more so now than ever, he still loved his Papa. And with that knowledge, he knew they could eventually work everything out.


End file.
